ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the political economy of carbon and the ways in which trading schemes have provided new opportunities for fraud and tax evasion. It explains the violence towards indigenous and poor peoples in developing countries point to a capitalist enterprise that is having devastating social, political and environmental impacts. There have been numerous international efforts to reduce carbon emissions, none more widespread than the Kyoto Protocol through carbon taxes and sinks, and renewable or 'cleaner. Carbon markets aim to internalise the costs of greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution within firms. In the Kyoto system, many offset credits are sourced from projects in developing countries through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). There are also a number of studies that point to vulnerabilities concerning verification and validation in the CDM process the largest offset scheme. Of considerable concern is the creation of carbon offset projects in regions afflicted by conflict and human rights abuses.
